On Running With Dogs

Upon reading my sad little tale of being in a dry spell, my good friend Julia stepped in and saved the day (or the blog).  I met Julia through the wonderful sport of running and she has become a dear friend and running pal over the last few years.  She is one of the most consistent runners I know and usually game for anything I or our other running pals come up with to try.  We often refer to her as our "GPS" because she knows every possible route for every type of distance or run we want to do.

Julia has made cameo appearances in my blog and is currently contemplating starting one of her own (and I wish she would).  I think after you read her post on running with dogs, you will agree with me on that.

On Running With Dogs

There is another man in my life. But donʼt worry; my husband knows about him. He has jet black hair and soulful eyes. Heʼs lean and lanky and handsome. He also drools sometimes and has no regard for personal space. His name is Jordan.

My brother-in-law has many nicknames for
Jordan, including “Jordan Dumpus”, “The Gimp
Champion”, “Bereft of Knowledge”, “Oblivious
to Mockery”, “An Economic Leech”, and “The
King of Fools”.

Jordan is my sisterʼs dog. She and her husband adopted him almost three years ago, after he had been hit by a car and had recovered from surgery. His back right leg healed straight, so it sticks out when he sits. But like me, my sister is a runner, and she worked patiently with Jordan until he was able to run up to 8 miles.

Jordan is one of my favorite running partners. He seems to know the difference between running clothes and regular clothes. He waits to start running until he hears the beep of your watch. Sometimes heʼs a little frustrating, like when he has “many sniffs to sniff,” as Jane would say. But heʼs also well-behaved enough to run off the leash, and when he does, he runs with a joy thatʼs contagious. On a recent run with Jane, he happily ignored the early-morning gardeners and passers-by when I simply told him to “stay with us.”

 

My sister and her husband moved to Ohio recently. My brother-in-law is working towards his Masterʼs degree at Ohio State. My sister is a wonderful running partner as well, so itʼs difficult to face the reality that Iʼll only get to run with her and Jordan so sparingly in the next few years. But hopefully my husband and I will move out of our apartment in the near future, and then we can get our own Jordan (I have a not-so-secret desire to adopt a weimaraner and name it Goucher). Until then, I look forward to my next running date with the Gimp Champion!